Pulling a fast one
Fraudulent activities have long been part of the insurance industry but have never been properly legally defined, making it complicated to pursue a worthwhile prosecution. However, Helen Tilley explains that this may change if a new law gets the green light
The type of conduct that can be characterised as fraudulent in insurance claims is extremely wide and includes: deliberately inflating claims; claims where no loss has occurred at all; false statements as to the circumstances of the loss or in complying with contractual conditions; and false descriptions of the subject matter.
Fraud can occur at the application stage in the form of fraudulent non-disclosure or misrepresentation. The civil definition for fraud dates back to the 1889 case of Derry
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